Right hand
Short chords, three per bar: C E flat G for most of the section, and C E flat F sharp when the harmony darkens. The cadence at the end slows the chords to two per bar, G and C, G and B natural, G and F, G and E flat, then G E flat C.
Ballade - Piano Sheet Music (First Section, Burgmüller Op. 100 No. 15)
Friedrich Burgmüller (1806-1874) 1851 C minor 3/8 Intermediate 0:20 Both hands
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Burgmüller's Ballade is the study every piano student wants to play: dark, fast and dramatic, like a story of knights told on a stormy night. The trick is that the tune is in the left hand. The right hand keeps up crisp C minor chords, three per bar, while the left hand plays the famous theme underneath: C B C, G A B, and up. This page has the first section, bars 1 to 24, both hands exactly as printed in the Litolff edition, up to the cadence. It is marked Allegro con brio, fast and with fire, but learn it slowly in Practice mode first.
How to play it
How to play Ballade on the piano
Left hand
The theme: C B C G A B, twice, with B and A natural. Then C, E flat and G with rests between them, and a long A under the F sharp chord. The same phrase comes back, then the cadence: G, then E flat, D, B and C under a G.
Tricky passages
Keeping the right hand chords light and short so the left hand theme comes through. The right hand plays the same chord bar after bar, and it is easy to rush it: let the left hand lead.
Fingering
Right hand chords: C E flat G with 1-2-4 or 1-3-5, whichever keeps the wrist loose. Left hand theme: C B C with 1-2-1, then G A B with 4-3-2, so the thumb lands back on C.
Notes
Ballade piano notes
The right-hand melody of this version, bar by bar, in letter names and in Do Ré Mi. Sharps are written #, flats b; a note held across a bar line is written once.
Melody: G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G F# F# F# …
| Bar | Notes | Do Ré Mi |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 2 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 3 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 4 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 5 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 6 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 7 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 8 | F# F# F# | Fa# Fa# Fa# |
| 9 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 10 | F# F# F# | Fa# Fa# Fa# |
| 11 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 12 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 13 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 14 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 15 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 16 | F# F# F# | Fa# Fa# Fa# |
| 17 | G G G | Sol Sol Sol |
| 18 | F# F# F# | Fa# Fa# Fa# |
| 19 | G G | Sol Sol |
| 20 | C C | Do Do |
| 21 | B B | Si Si |
| 22 | F F | Fa Fa |
| 23 | Eb Eb | Mib Mib |
| 24 | G Eb C | Sol Mib Do |
Chords
Chords in Ballade
The chords this arrangement holds for at least two bars, read from the score with the root in the bass. Each one opens its page: the notes, every inversion and the fingering, playable on a piano.
The piece is in C minor: all the chords of the key
About the piece
About Ballade
Ballade is No. 15 of the 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, that Friedrich Burgmüller published in Paris in 1851 for his piano pupils. It is one of the few studies of the book in a minor key, and one of the most loved.
A ballade is a story told in music, a word borrowed from the old narrative poems and songs. Burgmüller's ballade tells its story with a theme that returns again and again, under chords that never let the tension drop.
This transcription: Burgmüller, 25 Études faciles et progressives, Op. 100, No. 15 (1851), Litolff edition: Mutopia Project no. 227, typeset by Bas Wassink, placed in the public domain; bars 1-24 as printed. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.
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In the studio
Practise with your MIDI keyboard, record your take, export MIDI
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Questions
Ballade on piano: frequently asked
How hard is Burgmüller's Ballade?
Level 3 of 5 here. The notes are few, but the melody is in the left hand under repeated chords, and the tempo is fast. Most students play it after La Candeur and Arabesque.
What does Ballade mean in music?
A ballade is a piece that tells a story, named after the old narrative poems and songs. Burgmüller's Ballade is a short, dramatic story in C minor.
Which number is the Ballade in Burgmüller's Op. 100?
No. 15 of the 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100, published in Paris in 1851.